


Puppy Fur

by rainydayadvocate



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M, Mentioned James Potter, Mentioned Peter Pettigrew, Puppy Love, Remus Lupin Needs a Hug, Shrieking Shack, Sirius Black as Padfoot, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2020-02-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:48:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22563520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainydayadvocate/pseuds/rainydayadvocate
Summary: Yet another full moon has come and gone, and Remus awakes in the Shrieking Shack with Padfoot by his side. Before his companion wakes up, Remus pulls at the puppy fur shedding from the growing dog. What comes next is a moment of clarity and emotion neither the dog nor werewolf expected.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 74
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 5





	Puppy Fur

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ljparis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ljparis/gifts).



> It's actually my first attempt at this ship, and I hope this is a decent enough slow burn. Enjoy!

The morning-after pain ached in Remus’s muscles, his body exhausted from an evening of not one but two forced transformations. The worst were usually his thighs and shoulders, but this morning it was face. His fingers instinctively went to his cheeks, hoping he found cheeks and a nose, not chops and a snout.

He did, in fact, find his cheeks and nose. They were just extremely tender this morning. Usually meant increased snarling or biting. He ran his tongue over his teeth, relieved to find no remnants of raw meat in them. Finding werewolf snack leftovers was never pleasant.

A blanket lay draped across his lower body, something Padfoot and Prongs always tried to make happen, but Moony wasn’t always cooperative about. Wormtail almost got stepped on the last time he tried to put the blanket on Moony, and he hasn’t tried since—not that Remus could blame him.

Per usual, curled up near Remus’s middle, was Padfoot. He and Prongs used to switch off, but Head Boy duties had made it solely Padfoot’s responsibility this year. Dusty rays of sunlight striped Padfoot’s fur in the morning sun, and he still slept peacefully.

The sunlight highlighted one of Remus’s favorite things about Padfoot’s coat—he was still losing puppy fur. Sirius Black would never, ever, admit that his animagus form was still a teenage dog, even though he was, of course, a teenage wizard. While yes, within the last year, Sirius had successfully grown a scant beard—a strangely important landmark for him—but Padfoot had yet to completely lose his pup remnants.

Remus reached for some scruff behind Padfoot’s neck, massaging into the fur. His fingers danced around the tender skin underneath, and when he pulled them out from the fur, tufts of fuzzy puppiness escaped between his fingers. He chuckled to himself and pulled out more and more of the soft, almost translucent, puppy fur.

Padfoot didn’t wake as Remus continued to clean and scratch around his neck then down his back. His adult fur, though coarser and thicker than the shedding young coat, suited Padfoot and his counterpart better. The top of the new coat was gruff, but his undercoat remained soft. Sirius could pretend all he wanted that his was all gruff and no fluff, but that’s all it was. Pretend.

Though he could’ve been more thorough with a brush, Remus was satisfied with how much of the shedding coat he coaxed out while Padfoot slept. The black dog awoke with multiple overly dramatic stretches and a whiny yawn louder than necessary. Padfoot spent extra time stretching his front paws, not unlike Sirius did with his morning knuckle popping. “Good morning, Padfoot,” Remus said, his voice always rougher than he expected.

Padfoot turned his piercing hazel blue eyes—unnatural for a dog but not for this animagus—to look at Remus. He scooted his rump around and sat on his haunches, inspecting Remus. He did this every month, looking for telltale signs of the transformation the night before. When the visual inspection was over, the scented inspection began. Padfoot barked a short approval and approached, wet nose wiggling. He bumped it into the middle of Remus’s chest and Remus smacked the nuzzle away gently. “That’s wicked cold.”

Maybe most dogs couldn’t smirk, but Padfoot could. His inspection continued, nudging a scrape and bruise on his arm. Remus looked at it and frowned. The bruise was hoof-shaped. “Did Prongs pin me down last night?”

Padfoot snorted in agreement and kept moving. He sniffed down the rest of Remus’s body, finally pushing the blanket back from his legs with his nose. Just above his heels were a series of scabs, including some obvious bite marks. Padfoot whined his apology.

Remus leaned forward and pet between his ears, scratching behind one ear when he leaned in. “I know you only bite when you have to. Thank you for keeping me controlled.” Padfoot closed his eyes and leaned more into Remus’s hand.

Yet another tuft of puppy fur worked its way into Remus’s hand. As he pulled his hand back, he showed the clump of fuzz to the pouting dog. “I know you’re convinced you have no puppy fur, but you’re wrong. It is still falling out.” Remus dramatically added it to the rest of the fur pile he had been building. Padfoot deliberately sneezed on Remus’s exposed legs. “You can deny it all you want, but you are not a full-grown dog yet, I’m sorry.”

In protest, Padfoot leaned forward, close to the pile of fur, and snorted, sending it across the dusty floor. To show how pleased he was with himself, he leaned up and licked Remus’s face. He laughed and stroked his neck.

Padfoot moved closer, nuzzling against Remus’s cheek. The gesture sent goosebumps over Remus’s arms; while a perfectly natural movement for a dog, it was uncharacteristically doggish for this animagus. And it felt nice. When Padfoot reaffirmed the nuzzle, Remus stroked more deliberately at the side of Padfoot’s neck. The next kiss came gently on his chin, a barely-there brush with the tip of his tongue. Remus moaned and closed his eyes, nudging the dog closer.

Mere seconds later, the kiss on his jaw was a deliberate press of lips, and Remus’s hand tugged on the scruffy hair just above the nape of Sirius’s neck. It was a new feeling, a new sensation. But not a bad one. A pretty great one. “Sirius—”

“Hush.” His mouth moved up across Remus’s scruffy jawline and kissed the corner of his mouth.

Remus expected one more kiss, a proper kiss, but it didn’t come. Instead, he found Sirius Black crouched in a position that mirrored Padfoot’s sitting position.

“So.”

“So.”

They stared at each other. Sirius blinked first. Their staring contest did nothing to alleviate the tingles Remus up and down his body.

“I should get dressed,” Remus finally said.

“Yeah.”

“Yeah.”

Once ready to head back to the castle, no more words of the almost kiss passed between them. But Sirius did, twice, slide his hand against Remus’s, his fingers running delicately over his palm. Something had just started, and Remus couldn’t wait to find out what.


End file.
